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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac OS X > Official Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Tips & Tricks Thread

Official Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Tips & Tricks Thread
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Oct 25, 2007, 01:42 PM
 
I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread like this. Especially in those early days!

To start the thread off:

Bluetooth
Make sure you have configured your Mac properly before attempting to connect an device like your phone over Bluetooth.

Go to System Preferences > Sharing > Bluetooth Sharing to enable it.

Dock
Get rid of the 3D Dock and turn it 2D by executing this command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES

To reverse:

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO

In order to make the changes take effect execute this command as well:

killall Dock
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 07:57 AM
 
This thread is officially deserted...
     
Baninated
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Oct 26, 2007, 07:59 AM
 
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 08:26 AM
 
OT:
badidea, I really like your sig. Did you see the nice pics here? What a gorgeous aircraft!

OK, back to OS X...
I'm getting slightly twitchy here (even more than usual)... in a few hours I should have my sweet purring Leopard on a brand-new sweet purring 250GB disk in my MBP.
MBP 15" 2.33GHz C2D 3GB 2*23" ACD
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 10:09 AM
 
This might be stupid, but I really like scrolling a background app or window when my mouse is over the window.
iamwhor3hay
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 10:24 AM
 
I'm guessing the answer is no, but can Time Machine back up volumes, including mounted external storage devices and disk images?

Sorry guys, I posted this in the wrong thread. My bad.
(Last edited by OliverTwist; Oct 26, 2007 at 10:33 AM )
     
mdc
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:15 AM
 
If you have an old laptop that never used to support it, you can now enable two finger right clicks.

MrForgetable, that's awesome! Nice tip. I always used to scroll background windows with the scrollbar. I like this new feature a lot better.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:26 AM
 
Originally Posted by MrForgetable View Post
This might be stupid, but I really like scrolling a background app or window when my mouse is over the window.
Not stupid at all. I noticed that earlier this morning. Really handy.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by .Neo View Post

Dock
Get rid of the 3D Dock and turn it 2D by executing this command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES

To reverse:

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO

In order to make the changes take effect execute this command as well:

killall Dock

     
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:37 AM
 
"Always Show Tab Bar" in Safari is now in the "View" menu...not Preferences.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:38 AM
 
Also Safari related --> Debug Menu

defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1


From: Safari Developer FAQ
     
mdc
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Oct 26, 2007, 11:47 AM
 
I don't think this was in 10.4:

Open Dashboard
Add the World Clock and set it to a time different to the one it initially loads as.

The hands wind to the correct time. Very cool.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 03:04 PM
 
interesting...there are braille drivers in the system...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 04:20 PM
 
When enabling Spaces I can really recommend to assign applications to your various desktops. It will really improve the experience.



I have it set up like this:

1. Default applications such as iChat, Mail and Safari (Internet etc.)
2. iLife '08, iTunes, QuickTime (Multimedia)
3. iWork '08, Adobe CS3 (Productivity)
4. All other 3rd party applications

Not matched to a certain space: Finder, Preview, Utilities
     
mdc
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Oct 26, 2007, 04:36 PM
 
To add to .Neo's tip, you can assign certain applications to be on all Spaces.
I have iTunes and Adium/iChat on all so that it's quick to get to iTunes and so that chats are never lost.

The general OS X tip that still is in effect here. Holding Shift while clicking things causes them to animate slowly. Stacks looks cool.

Right clicking on the Time Machine dock icon lets you start a backup. I couldn't find this option elsewhere and accidentally came across it in the dock menu. It will also let you browse other Time Machine backups. I assume this is if you run out of space and keep the backup drive as an archive and move onto a new one.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 04:42 PM
 
Originally Posted by mdc View Post
Right clicking on the Time Machine dock icon lets you start a backup. I couldn't find this option elsewhere and accidentally came across it in the dock menu.
Hey thanks for that! I was actually looking for it as well, but without any luck. It really didn't cross my mind to look around the Dock menu.
     
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Oct 26, 2007, 07:30 PM
 
When you are backspacing in a dialog of some sort, you used to press option-<backspace> to delete individual words instead of chars. This is still the behavior in Safari and most places, it seems. However, when asked for my password, in the password field box "option-backspace" doesn't work and command-backspace did work. If this isn't a bug, it's a feature!
     
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Oct 27, 2007, 12:53 AM
 
Shift-Command-4 now gives pixel numeric readouts. Way cool for trimming that last line of pixels from a screen grab!
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Oct 27, 2007, 03:08 AM
 
has anyone here tried using the "bars be gone" feature in dvd player yet? also, has anyone used the de-interlacing feature?

any picture improvements, sound improvements?
     
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Oct 27, 2007, 03:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by legacyb4 View Post
Shift-Command-4 now gives pixel numeric readouts. Way cool for trimming that last line of pixels from a screen grab!
Also, Shift-Command-4, followed by the space bar, now captures the shadow of the window as well as the window itself.

Caution: Contents May Be Flammable. Keep Out Of Reach Of Children.
     
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Oct 27, 2007, 05:10 AM
 
I just accidentally found out that when you go to Spaces (the overview layer) and press "C" it will collect all window in Space 1. Hit "C" again and they'll move back.

Pretty nifty.